Eye of GNOME is an open source application that allows users to view image files under open source, Linux-based operating systems. It is mostly used under the GNOME desktop environment, where it is called Image Viewer.

Features at a glance

Eye of GNOME can make use of EXIF information stored in digital camera images and display it on an optional sidebar that can be enabled from the View menu. It can read numerous image file formats, including ANI, BMP, GIF, ICO, JPEG, PCX, PNG, PNM, RAS, SVG, TGA, TIFF, WBMP, XBM, and XPM.

Basic image editing functions are displayed on the main toolbar, allowing users to rotate the current image 90 degrees to the left of right in incremental steps, as well as to flip the image horizontally or vertically. The changes can be saved.

Another interesting feature is the ability to import plugins, which add new functionality to the application, using the Preferences dialog. New plugins can be added by installing a binary package entitled Eye of GNOME Plugins.

Getting started with Eye of GNOME

If you use GNOME as your default desktop environment and you double click an image file, it will (most probably) open it with the Eye of GNOME application, which’s name is usually shorten to EOG by the Linux community.

The program provides users with a very basic and uncluttered user interface, comprised of the main toolbar and the statusbar. Optionally, users can choose to view a sidebar, an image gallery that allows them to access more photos from the current folder, as well as fullscreen and slideshow modes.

Availability and supported Linux OSes

The application is distributed as a standalone source package that can be configured, compiled and installed in any desktop environment or operating system. While no binary packages are available for a specific Linux OS, users can install the program from the default software repositories of their Linux distro.

Eye of GNOME was reviewed by Marius Nestor, last updated on February 17th, 2015